Manage your subscription

Born to breed

From
Andy Robinson

Fred Pearce repeats the suggestion that “we are most likely heading for peak population by mid-century” (6 July, p 42). This ignores the effect of evolution&colon; when the environment changes, species change to maximise reproductive effectiveness.

In the past it was only necessary to form a sexual partnership and children would probably arrive. Now, reliable contraception means that people who actively want children have many more than people who don’t.

If this continues, then the great majority will be descended from those who wanted lots of children. Assuming that the desire to have lots of children is at least …